The Storm
by rachel.leann
Summary: Elena was vaguely aware that she was dying. The pain no longer felt as sharp or as real. She grew tired so she closed her eyes and let the dim traces of her humanity slip away... Set after Damon and Elena capture Stefan. Will Elena choose to stay or run?
1. Chapter 1 The Storm

Hello everyone! This is far from my first story and far from my first fan fiction, but it is my first Vampire Diaries fan fiction. As of now, this is merely a one shot. If enough people respond and show interest, I have an idea of how to form this into a story. I hope you enjoy it! And reviews are greatly appreciated!!!

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The Storm

_I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you. But who can decide what they dream? And dream I do… I knew you loved me then._

_-Evanescence _

Elena stood in the shadows and watched him come toward her. His eyes were a vivid red. She should have been terrified that his eyes mimicked the blood that flowed through her veins, the blood he wanted. For some reason, however, she wasn't scared. She stood there eagerly and waited for his lips to crash down on hers. It didn't take long for his lips to trail down her face and onto her neck. He planted one soft kiss there before he bit down. It hurt, but she stood there like a mannequin and let him drain her body of the blood she needed to survive, and oddly, the blood he needed to survive. The pain she felt meant nothing. He was her one true love and she would give up anything to make him happy. She needed his love and was at such an irrevocable point that she didn't care about her pain. His happiness was all that mattered.

She suddenly realized that he was still drinking her blood. Her head was pounding and her eyes were starting to lose their focus. The pain had intensified and was all consuming. She couldn't shake off how she felt. She looked to him to try to get him to see her current pain, but his eyes looked so completely guttural that he didn't care about her. He was lost in his lust for her blood and nothing would turn him back. She was vaguely aware that she was dying. The pain no longer felt as sharp or as real. Now, it was just a dull reminder of her life and the place she was leaving behind. She grew tired so she closed her eyes and just let the dim traces of her humanity slip away.

Elena woke up with a start in the dungeon of the Salvatore manor. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and even when recognition hit, it took her a few more minutes to remember why she was there. The previous night felt like a nightmare, and its fear still lingered in her body. She wanted to take back the night she had given Stefan her blood, but knew that idea was impossible. Not only did he have to learn to deal with his lust for blood, she had to deal with it too.

Pushing herself off the cold floor, Elena looked to where Damon stood. She knew he'd heard her get up, but he didn't acknowledge her. Instead, he stared into the cell that held his brother, the one they'd worked together to capture last night.

"How long will he have to be in there?" Elena asked and broke the eerie silence. She wrapped her arms against her body to try to regain her warmth, although the action didn't help. The dungeon was cold, but so were her memories.

It felt like hours before Damon finally responded. "I don't know."

"There has to be something we can do. Anything." Her voice was desperate.

"We just have to wait Elena," he shrugged. "He has to come out of this on his own."

Elena crossed her arms and frowned. "When you first came into town, Stefan worked nonstop to try to save you."

"I didn't need saving," Damon replied with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Elena rolled her eyes before she finally let them rest on Stefan. He looked completely innocent in the cell. It was hard to believe that only the previous night she'd been afraid that he'd take her life.

"Stefan isn't going to be the same person, even if he does come out of this."

Elena held onto the bars of the cell and tried to fight back the tears. Although Damon's words hurt, she knew they were true. The man she'd fallen in love with was gone. He had been buried the night Stefan had drunk her blood to survive.

"We still have to try," Elena finally said. "I owe it to him Damon."

"I know," he replied. "I just don't want you to be hurt when nothing changes."

She nodded and pointed vaguely to the door. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back in a little while."

Damon's immediate frown told her of his disapproval, but he shrugged. "I have a jacket thrown across the couch if you want it. It's cold outside."

"I'll be fine."

"Suit yourself."

Elena had to force herself to take the stairs one at a time. She wanted to rush out of the dungeon-like prison Stefan was trapped in, but didn't want to be that weak. This vampire mess was nothing new to her, but she had always had a vision of things getting better. She had fooled herself into thinking Stefan was her prince charming. Now, she had to deal with a blood thirsty vampire and far too conflicting emotions.

Despite what Elena had said to Damon, she grabbed his jacket before she went outside. The day was gloomy and mirrored her mood far too well. A thin line of fog hung in the air and trapped the sunlight out from the world. Her happiness was blocked out now by the darkness Stefan had become. She longed to see the sun again.

As she walked, she concentrated on her breathing. It took all her effort to keep her heart steady. Stefan had been practically stripped away from her and even if he did come back, they couldn't be together. Not only had he attacked her, but she had attacked him too. She had mercilessly fed his body with vervain. Would he even attempt to forgive her, or would this be the beginning of a long phase of pain and suffering?

Letting out a deep breath, Elena sat down on the grass underneath an oak tree. She could feel Damon's eyes on her from the house and was glad he hadn't physically followed her to this location. She needed time to think away from him and his sorry excuse for a vampire brother.

A smile crossed her lips at that thought. If Stefan had really been what he was meant to be, they wouldn't be in this mess now. If Stefan would have accepted his vampire heritage long ago, he would have never come to Mystic Falls and she would have never fallen in love with him. She would have never met Damon, never found out Bonnie was a witch, and never had to watch her brother lose Vickie. There would have been so much less pain.

Elena shook her head at that. Despite the pain she had been through, she wouldn't be the same person without the events that had taken place. She had made herself stronger and had gained knowledge of the unknown of this world. She had found out about her mother and the truth of that alone had set her free in a way she had never known it would. She just wanted to be set free from the mess she was in now.

For the next few hours Elena sat underneath that tree and debated what she wanted to do. No matter what road she chose to take, her thoughts ended up in the same place. Whether or not she liked the circumstances she was in, they were part of her life. She had to learn how to deal with them somehow.

It had just started raining when Elena decided to go back inside. She held Damon's jacket close to her body in an attempt to keep her clothes dry. The sky had turned frighteningly dark in the short time the clouds had rolled in. A trace of thunder echoed in the distance. She didn't want it to storm, but with the way her luck was going, it probably would.

When Elena entered the Salvatore manor, the warm smell of food drifted through the air. She wasn't aware she was hungry until a lone growl issued from her stomach. As her curiosity built, she walked toward the smell of the food. When she entered the kitchen area, she was surprised to find Damon cooking behind the stove. She arched an eyebrow and let an unsure smile cross her face.

"You're cooking."

"You're wearing my jacket."

Confusion lined Elena's features as she glanced down at the jacket. She quickly took the jacket off and tried to hand it back to Damon. When he shook his head, she laid the jacket across the back of one of the chairs. Her eyes then drifted to the contents of the pans on the stove.

"What are you cooking?"

"Grilled chicken with fettuccini alfredo," he shrugged. "There wasn't much here."

Elena smiled weakly at him as she peered into the pans. A portable grill had been sit up by the stove and the chicken was grilling perfectly inside. The food looked absolutely amazing and she was ready to eat.

As Elena glanced to Damon, she creased an eyebrow.

"What were you going to do if I still wasn't in by the time the food was finished?"

A mischievous grin crossed Damon's face. "I had my ways of getting you inside."

Elena rolled her eyes and fought back a smile. It was nice to feel happy after the long week she'd had. Her happiness didn't last long, however, as guilt crept into her features.

"It's not a big deal Elena," Damon spoke up, as if reading her thoughts. "He'd want you to be happy, even though he's going through this mess."

"This mess could get all of us killed," Elena snapped. "It's not something I want to take lightly."

"I wasn't asking you too."

Elena shook her head and glanced to food. Thankfully, it looked like it was ready to eat. She needed any distraction she could get right now.

It didn't take long for them to put the food in bowls and sit it on the table. She took her first bite of food in near silence. When she glanced at Damon, however, she could tell that the meal wasn't going to remain that way.

He offered a rouge smile before he motioned to the window. "It's going to storm soon."

She narrowed her eyes slightly. "I can tell."

"I don't want you going home in this kind of weather."

"I never said I was going to."

Damon creased his eyebrow as a smile played across his lips. "Miss Elena Gilbert, where did this attitude come from?"

"It's not something I'm going to talk to you about."

She quickly looked away from him and took another bite of her food. She knew exactly where her attitude had come from. Something inside of her was glad that this whole mess had happened. It had opened her up and allowed her to see how shallow her feelings for Stefan truly were. She didn't love him, at least not anymore. And to make matters worse, the man that loved her had disappeared behind the façade of a monster. Or maybe Stefan had been right about the whole mess. Maybe Stefan really was a monster and he had just hidden beneath the pretense of being human so long that he had started to see himself that way. Either way, the outcome was the same. She didn't love him anymore and that guilt claimed her body.

Yet the real reason of her guilt lay deeper than that. Not only did she no longer love Stefan, she also didn't miss him now. Shouldn't there time together have meant more to her than that? She certainly thought so.

When Elena ate the last few bites of her food, she got up in one fluid movement and moved over to the sink. Damon followed her, but she shook her head in protest.

"You made the food, the least I can do is clean up."

A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he held up his hands in mock surrender. "Yes master."

Elena fought back a smile as she turned around. When she did, the kitchen lights flickered and quickly went off. She looked back at Damon in time to hear the crashing thunder that followed. All she could see was his silhouette in the near darkness. She could make out his profile and knew he was looking outside, but she wasn't sure what he was looking at or for.

"The dishes can wait," Damon finally said. He rummaged through a nearby drawer and quickly found the object he was looking for. "Let's go somewhere where we can see."

Elena nodded and a smile crossed her lips when she knew Damon had seen her motion. Most people would have laughed at her trying to reply with a nod in the dark, but with Damon, it made no difference. He could see her no matter how dark the room became.

He touched her arm then and a shiver raced down her spine. She hadn't been paying attention and the touch took her completely off guard. Her body tensed and she immediately retreated back a step. When a laugh escaped his lips, she wished she wouldn't have moved.

"I was just trying to lead out of this room. I wasn't trying to seduce you."

"I never implied you were," Elena snapped and instantly regretted it. This storm had her on edge and if she didn't calm down soon, she was going to go crazy.

This time when Damon touched her, she didn't retreat. Instead, she held onto his arm and allowed him to guide her into the living room. Although this room had more windows in it, little light filtered into the room. The storm was too dark to allow too much sunlight to escape.

Damon left Elena at one of the couches and moved toward the fireplace. He lit the wood quickly and Elena welcomed the warm light that consumed the room. It didn't completely lift her mood, but it made her feel slightly better.

Then, she watched as Damon moved and sat down beside her. It made her nervous having him so close to her, but she wasn't about to tell him to move. That would only make things worse.

Elena looked at the room and tried to think of anything to talk about. She opened her mouth to speak and turned to face him again, but stopped her half-formed words and frowned.

"Have you been staring at me this entire time?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Elena lost contact with his eyes for a split second and shifted in her seat. She didn't like where this was going, but didn't know how to stop it.

"Go ahead."

"You don't think Stefan will change after this, do you?"

Elena let out a deep breath and shook her head. "No."

"Then are you staying here now because you still have hope or because you feel like it's your fault?"

When Elena opened her mouth to speak, the words didn't come. Even if Stefan did come back, she knew she wouldn't be with him. And even though she felt like this whole mess was her fault, she wasn't about to stay because of it. As the real reason of her staying hit her full force, she looked to Damon and pleaded.

"I can't do this," she said before she stood up and started walking away. She heard him get off the couch and then felt his arm grab her wrist. He turned her around to face him and she felt everything shatter.

"I know," he said softly and that was all it took to put everything back into place. No matter how her friendship with Damon had started off, it was now something she cherished. She wouldn't leave him. Not now, especially when his brother was going through this mess. Damon had become her rock in the midst of this evil laden storm. She needed him.

Slowly, Elena closed the gap between them. She glanced up into Damon's confused eyes and tried to muster up the strength to smile. Her lips brushed over his gently and she savored the intimacy of their first kiss. He had barely moved, but had somehow managed to let go of her wrist. The second time she kissed him, he kissed her back lightly. A chill raced down her spine that completely intoxicated her. By the third kiss, Damon held her head gently in his hands and kissed her with a delicacy she had never been kissed before.

The fourth kiss was no longer as gentle. Damon held onto her hips now and pulled her to him. By the seventh kiss, she felt Damon hesitate and then he pushed her away quickly. He held onto her with shaky arms to keep her from coming back or running away.

"I need to ask you something," Damon finally breathed.

"Yes."  
"Am I compelling you to do this? Do you have your necklace on?"

A look of confusion spread across her face. "You're not compelling me and I have my necklace."

"Good."

And then his mouth was back on hers. She savored the taste of him and longed to take this farther. But then fears swam into her own head and she pushed him away.

"Who am I?" she asked suddenly.

Damon knew where this conversation was going. "You are so completely Elena."

She melted back into him quickly. Whatever was going on between them was all-consuming. She didn't know how to deal with it so she simply lost herself in him.

An echo of thunder erupted through the house then and Elena was snapped out of her trance. She looked to Damon in confusion and shook her head.

"Let's go check on Stefan," she said quickly. She needed any distraction she could get.

All Damon did was nod. Elena was secretly thankful he didn't speak. His voice would have catapulted her into another daze.

As they walked down the stairs to the basement, Elena secretly wondered if what had happened was a onetime thing or if it would happen again. For now, she was glad she didn't have to deal with it.


	2. Chapter 2 We Who Are Dying

a/n: Thanks for reviewing my first chapter. With the season finale of the tv show looming close by, I felt like I had to continue this story. I need something to do over the summer while I'm waiting for the next season to start. I hope you like this chapter! More will be up soon. And if you like this chapter, please review. Thanks!

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Chapter 2 We Who Are Dying

After the torchlight red on sweaty faces  
After the frosty silence in the gardens  
After the agony in stony places  
The shouting and the crying  
Prison and palace and reverberation  
Of thunder of spring over distant mountains  
He who was living is now dead  
We who were living are now dying  
With a little patience  
-The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot

Elena moved into the dungeon in an eerie silence. Damon had stopped following her a few stairs back to give her room to check on Stefan. She wondered what Damon was thinking now. Did their kiss mean anything, or was she just another one of his many flings? Was he going to watch her and interrupt her expression as she gazed at his brother, or did he even care? Did he truly see Elena, or was she just a substitute for Katherine. Did he have fears, did he have doubts, or did they only belong to her? Their moment together had felt so real.

After letting out a deep breath, Elena looked toward Stefan's cell. Even she wasn't sure how she'd react when she saw Stefan. Would there be fear of his new being, apathy toward the man she no longer loved, or guilt for kissing his brother? The ideas of all the emotions made her being erupt with nervousness. Not only were Damon's eyes watching her every movement, his ears would also be monitoring her breathing and waiting for each and every change she made. That thought made her shiver, but she still moved on.

Slowly, her hands reached out and grabbed onto the bars as she gazed inside the cell. Her breathing hitched and confusion consumed her being.

"Damon, come here," she finally breathed. She glanced over to Damon then and watched him walk to her. His arms were crossed and his brow was creased. He obviously wasn't thrilled about seeing what Elena had.

"Well isn't that something," he spoke as he looked into the cell. Even though Elena was glancing into Damon's dark eyes, she knew what he was taking in. First, there was the beautiful brown stone the cell was etched out of. A sliver of lightning filtered through a barred window to glisten and glide across the ancient stone. In the midst of the floor stood a bottle of animal blood Damon had placed in the cell earlier just in case Stefan was hungry when he woke up. Thrown across the makeshift bed was a blanket Elena had brought down earlier. Although there was no real purpose for the blanket, she had wanted to contribute something to help Stefan after she had fed his body with vervain. And that was it. There was no angry, sad, or brooding vampire tucked into a corner of the cell. Although the reason was an enigma, the bitter truth was that Stefan was gone.

"Where do you think he went?" Elena asked as she gazed deeper into Damon's dark eyes.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I bet he's causing trouble though."

"Maybe he left to go hunt an animal," Elena replied hopefully.

"Please," Damon rolled his eyes. When Elena scoffed, he sighed. "Suppose he woke up, decided he was hungry, and chose to ignore the animal blood sitting in the cell. Let's then suppose he was strong enough to move on his own. Now we have to add the stipulation that he really did want animal blood instead of the human blood he was so crazy about only a day ago. Next, let's state that Stefan found a way to unlock this _locked_ cell without any help. After this bizarre incident, let's cast logic aside and say he found another way out of the house besides going up the only staircase we have out of this place. Because if he did go up this only staircase, he would have seen us kissing and animal blood would have been the last thing on his mind."

Elena crossed her arms. "Are you finished?"

"I suppose so."

"Then let's spend time talking about a plan instead of fighting." She ran a hand through her long brown hair. "Where do you think Stefan would go?"

"He needs blood Elena." He looked deep into her eyes. "He ignored the animal blood. He wants something stronger." He saw Elena nod and was proud of how strong she was now. "He could be anywhere, although I think he'll want to attack a place full of a large group of people. He'll also want a place that's familiar. School is still going on. I think that should be the first place we look."

Elena cocked an eyebrow. "But what about Alaric? Why would he attack a place he knows has a vampire security system?"

"He's not thinking straight Elena." Damon's features softened slightly and he placed his hands on Elena's shoulders to capture her undivided attention. "He might not recognize you. I don't want you trying any of the same stuff you did last night."

"He won't kill me Damon."

A slight trace of anger blazed behind the depths of Damon's eyes. "Just promise me you won't do anything stupid Elena."

"No," she shook her head quickly. "It's my life Damon. If I think I can get close enough to stop this, I will."

Damon cursed underneath his breath as he let go of her. "Why can't you be a normal human who is freaked out by vampires?"

A smile crossed Elena's lips then. "If I was normal, I wouldn't be friends with you."

Some strange emotion reflected in Damon's eyes that Elena had never seen before. At first she thought it was shock, but the emotion had passed so quickly that she wasn't sure what exactly it was.

The ride to the school was bathed in silence. Both refused to admit the mess they had arrived in and knew the other had no desire to hear such pessimistic thoughts as those that passed through their minds. Death was the least of their worries right now.

When Damon pulled the car into the parking lot of the high school, Elena let out a deep breath. Slowly, she pulled open her door and glanced back to Damon for only a second.

"I have to find Bonnie. Please find Stefan."

"You are _not_ leaving my sight," Damon hissed as he looked up at her.

"You don't have a choice," she said quickly before she shut the door and stepped out into the rain. She knew Damon could have been at her side in mere seconds, but was glad that he respected her enough not to do so. Both of them knew she could get herself killed if she ran into Stefan, but this had turned into a war. She needed Damon to concentrate on finding and stopping Stefan. She had other things to worry about.

The secretary at the reception desk was gazing at her computer so Elena was able to sneak by her without having to worry about checking in. At this moment, Elena secretly wished the school had a tighter security system put into place.

_Not that it would help against vampires_, she thought bitterly. It could have, however, given Elena and Damon some clue as to where Stefan currently was.

A crash of thunder echoed above and Elena cringed. She was ready for this stupid storm to be over with. It felt like everything connected to Stefan was connected to this storm. If the storm passed, maybe the mess with Stefan would pass too.

She had just entered the history hallway when a loud siren blared through the corridor. She glanced up in confusion and saw the flashing white lights of the tornado warning alarms. Students and teachers flooded into the hallway and moved toward the stairs. Elena was pushed with the throng of people and forced to follow them to the basement of the school. All the other students looked more thrilled than she was. They were just glad to be out of class. Secretly, Elena wished they'd go back to where they came from.

But then Elena saw Bonnie's dark hair in the mass of students below her. Fighting her way through the crowd, Elena yelled Bonnie's name. Bonnie turned around then and met Elena's eyes. Bonnie stood frozen for a few seconds before she shook her head and turned away. A frown crossed Elena's lips as she rushed to once again catch up with her friend.

When Elena reached the bottom of the stairs, teachers motioned for her to go sit along the side of the hallway that was away from Bonnie. Ignoring the teachers' protests, Elena moved toward Bonnie. Elena motioned for the guy next to Bonnie to move and was surprised when he did.

"We have to talk."

"Now?" Bonnie snapped as she met Elena's gaze with a look of resolve. "I told you I wasn't going to make you choose Elena. Why does this have to continue?"

"I'm not with Stefan anymore," Elena said quickly as she sat down. The teachers had stopped harassing her and just let her take her seat. "There is so much that's going on Bonnie."

"And you expect me to care?" Bonnie shook her head. "My grandmother lost her life because of this," she hissed underneath her breath. "I have no desire to lose mine."

"Then help me stop Stefan," Elena shrugged. "When he's gone, this is over."

Bonnie frowned at that comment. "I'm not stupid Elena. Stefan is only one person. There are many more left after him." She glanced down the hallway as something caught her attention. "And what about Damon, Elena? Is he over too?"

"I-" And she stopped. She didn't have an answer to the question and saw no reason to lie to Bonnie. They had been through too much to do that.

"If Damon's still in this, I'm not," Bonnie shrugged. "I can't be torn like this Elena."

"I know."

Elena ran a hand through her long hair and sought an escape. She gazed down the hallway and was surprised to see Jeremy talking to Anna. The way they interacted made her think of how her and Stefan used to be. They looked so much like a couple that Elena was knocked off guard. Did Jeremy know the truth about Anna? If he did, then that completely explained his behavior lately.

Then, she glanced down the hallway in the direction Bonnie had looked at only a few minutes earlier. She saw Damon as he conversed with Alaric. When he caught her gaze, he frowned and shrugged. Obviously he hadn't found any trace of his brother either.

All of a sudden, the vibe between her and Damon changed. She felt him look at her with worry on his face. Could he understand what had just happened between her and Bonnie? Had he been listening? Wherever his worry came from, she was glad to have it. She needed someone who understood her, especially now.

The light flickered, but thankfully remained on. With the threat of Stefan lurking in the shadows, Elena didn't think she could handle it if she was trapped in a basement with no way to see any sign of danger.

A musical laugh drifted up from nearby and Elena turned to see where the sound had come from. Caroline and Matt said next to each other and had smiles plastered on their faces. Vaguely, Elena could remember a time when Matt had made her that happy. Those times felt so long ago. She was a completely different person now, one who would never be able to return to that kind of normal life. She had chosen to abandon all hopes for a normal life the first day she had decided to pursue Stefan.

"Elena."

She was knocked out of her trance as someone above her spoke her name. She glanced up to see one of the secretaries standing above her.

"May I speak to you for a moment Miss Gilbert?" she asked with a disapproving look.

"Um," Elena had no desire to leave the safety of the other students. "We need to stay downstairs."

"We will," the secretary made clear.

"Yes, Mrs. Vaughn." Elena offered her a half-sincere smile as she stood up. Elena looked down at Bonnie for support, but Bonnie's eyes were gazing at an object farther down the hallway. Elena couldn't make out what Bonnie saw; the hallway looked completely empty from here.

As Mrs. Vaughn grabbed onto Elena's arm, Elena glanced back at Damon. He was watching her with a concerned expression on his face. Something about this whole situation wasn't right; Elena just didn't know what it was.

Mrs. Vaughn walked down the hallway Bonnie had been looking at only seconds before. The hallway veered off to the right and revealed a long corridor void of students. They continued to walk down the hallway until Elena could no longer hear the chatter of the student body. Nervousness claimed her body and she kept glancing back to the beginning of the hallway for support. She wanted to see Damon emerge into the hallway to save her, but no such help ever came.

"Let's go in here Ms. Gilbert," Mrs. Vaughn said before she opened one of the classroom doors. Since this door was in the school's basement, it had no windows and housed an eerie feeling. There were no desks in this room and Elena secretly wondered if it was even used anymore. Something deep inside her told her that it wasn't and that no one would think to look here when she didn't return.

When Mrs. Vaughn motioned for Elena to stand in the center of the room, Elena noticed the craziness that was housed behind her blue eyes. It was only at that instant that Elena decided Mrs. Vaughn had been compelled to bring her here.

But then a man cleared his throat at the front of the room and she was forced to give him her attention. She looked at her uncle with a feeling of loathing rising in her body. There was only one reason he would need to talk to her in an alone room and she didn't like where her thoughts were going. Yet when she glared at him, he only smiled.

"Hello Elena."


	3. Chapter 3 Betrayed

a/n: There are so many amazing things going on in the show right now, although I'm not really going to use much of them in my story. I like the storyline I have created and plan on carrying it through. I am currently very obsessed with "The Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot. I think many chapters will start with excerpts from it. And please let me know what you think about my story. I would love to have an idea of how many people are really reading my story. If you would review, that would be amazing. =) Thanks. I hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Three Betrayed

My friend, blood shaking my heart

The awful daring of a moment's surrender

Which an age of prudence can never retract,

By this, and this only, we have existed.

-"The Wasteland" by T. S. Eliot

"Hello Elena."

"Uncle John," Elena glared as she crossed her arms over her chest. Whatever charade he was playing, she was tired of. "Is there a reason you brought me here?"

"Is there a reason, yes," he replied as he moved out of the shadows and toward the teacher's desk. One of his fingers traced the dark wood and a smile crossed his lips.

Then, he turned toward the darkest shadow of the room. He nodded his head only once in that direction before he turned back to Elena. Elena's eyes, however, didn't live the corner. A teenage boy stood there, his eyes blood red in the soft light. He gave Elena a wicked grin before he rushed to Mrs. Vaughn and broke her neck. Her limp body fell to the ground and Elena forced herself to look back at her uncle. Showing any emotion now could get her killed.

"You've had an interesting development in your story," John continued as he walked in front of the desk and sat down on its edge. "Stefan has escaped the manor and is bloodthirsty. You're out here looking for him with really no clue where to look. Did it ever occur to you that he might be with you?" Uncle John laughed then and his laugh was so cold, so demonic, that Elena felt a shudder race through her body. Silently, she wondered if he was being compelled, but when she gazed into his eyes, she quickly learned he wasn't. Whatever he was doing now was of his own accord.

"Do you know where Stefan is?" she finally asked.

"Of course I know where Stefan is." He laughed again. "Have you not been paying attention to what I've been saying? I know how this is going to end Elena. It isn't going to end well."

"If you're going to kill me," Elena spoke slowly. "Why not just get it over with?"

"You have to understand the beauty of this first," John smirked. "You have to understand everything that's at stake. You need to learn why you have to die."

For a few seconds, Elena glanced away and acted like she was thinking. She used those few seconds to take in more of her surroundings. There were no windows in the room and only one door out. Getting past John and the vampire seemed impossible, but she had to try. She needed to keep him talking as long as possible.

"Tell me why I have to die," she spoke softly.

"What she has planned for you is far worse than death," John said as he looked to the door. Apparently, he was starting to get nervous. "I plan on making this quick. She'll drag out your death for hours. And when she gets finished with you, she'll turn you and start torturing you all over again."

"Who is she?"

"It doesn't matter." He shook his head. "What does matter is that your death will end all of this. When you die, this will be over."

"How?" Elena was starting to lose her patience. Every answer she received was met by more questions.

A frown crossed John's face as he stood up. "If you're going to die, you might as well know the truth. When they find your body, they'll also find your journal. They'll read about how you befriended two vampires. They'll also read about those vampires being Stefan and Damon Salvatore. Damon won't stand a chance against the army we have ready to fight him. His death will make her happy."

Thousands of questions were racing through Elena's head. She was trying to make sense of all she was hearing, but it still sounded very enigmatic. Finally, she decided to start with the simplest question. "How did you get my diary?"

"It wasn't that hard," John replied as he reached into his jacket. He pulled the diary out for Elena to see. "You shouldn't leave things like this lying around."

"I didn't leave it lying around," Elena snapped. "How do I even know that's mine? There are thousands of journals that look exactly like that."

"Then let me prove it," he shrugged. After flipping through several pages, he came to one that seemed suitable for him to read. A smirk crossed his lips as he read, "Most days I feel torn between my feelings. Ever since Stefan drank human blood, he's been different. Sometimes, I like this new form of him. He's more spontaneous, more passionate, more like Damon. But this side of Stefan is also destroying him. He doesn't understand how to control this new side of him. He's moody, jealous, and unstable. He can't keep going on like this. I've spoken to Damon and he's agreed to help me capture him. Whatever happens after this with Stefan will happen. If we're meant to be together, we will." He looked up from the page. "Is that enough for you?"

Elena glared at him. Even though John seemed bent on destroying her, he was also taking his time. Some form of her uncle had to still be in there or he would have killed her long ago.

"You said earlier that this will make her happy," Elena sighed as she ran a hand through her long hair. "Who is she?"

"You look so much like her Elena," John breathed.

Elena creased an eyebrow. "Are you talking about Katherine or my mother?"

Before John could say anything, the door to the classroom burst out. Damon didn't waste any time grabbing the other vampire and launching him into the wall. Unfortunately, the vampire got right back up. Elena glanced deeply into Damon's dark eyes for only a few moments before she looked back at the place John was standing. All that was left now was empty space.

"Take care of him," Elena said as she motioned to the vampire. "I'm going after John."

She didn't give Damon time to argue as she raced from the room. She hoped Damon was safe, but also hoped he'd hurry. She didn't want to fight her uncle alone.

* * *

As the vampire crouched down and prepared to lunge, Damon only laughed. From the small amount of muscle on this boy's body, the fight would be a quick and simple one. Instantly, Damon decided to call this vampire Unlucky. This fight was uneven, but Unlucky didn't seem to care. He had his mission and so did Damon. They would fight until one vampire was dead.

For a few more seconds, Unlucky took in Damon's appearance. Although Damon wasn't much bigger than this guy, he knew he had a strong advantage. Unlucky didn't seem to know what exactly to do, but Damon had been in many fights. Experience was definitely on Damon's side.

When Unlucky charged toward Damon, Damon moved away easily. He then grabbed onto the back of Unlucky's neck and slammed him headfirst into the floor. Damon turned the vampire over and hit him square in the nose. A smile crossed Damon's lips as his predator instincts kicked into overdrive. He punched the guy's jaw a few more times before he eased up.

"Who sent you?" Damon barked.

"John," Unlucky breathed. "I work for John."

"Who's he working for?"

"I don't know."

"You're wasting my time," Damon hummed as he looked into the young vampire's eyes. "Is there any useful information you can give me?"

"The person John is working for wants to kill all of you."

"I got that much. Anything else?"

Damon counted to three in his head and when Unlucky only continued to stare at him in fear, Damon ripped a piece of wood off a nearby desk. Then, he plunged the wood deep into the vampire's chest. Elena was somewhere alone and he didn't have time for this.

As Damon stood back up, he spat on the vampire's dead body. Then, he turned and raced down the area Elena had disappeared down earlier. If anything had happened to her, he'd never be able to forgive himself.

* * *

When Elena left the classroom, she ran straight into Alaric. He held an odd expression on his face, but shook his head when he saw Elena.

"I wasn't sure whether to go after him to not. I wasn't sure if you were safe."

"It's okay," Elena replied quickly. "Damon is in there taking care of a vampire problem." She motioned vaguely to the classroom. "I have to catch up with John."

"Here," Alaric said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a long dagger. "I don't want you going into the lion's den without protection."

"Thank you," Elena nodded as she grabbed onto the blade's handle. The blade sparkled a beautiful silver color that completely captivated her attention. She had never seen anything like this before. "What is this made of?"

"Silver," Alaric half laughed. "I'll explain it later. Right now, we need to go after your uncle."

Elena nodded before she turned and ran down the hallway. No matter how hard she ran, her uncle always appeared slightly out of reach. She could never see him, but always heard doors opening and closing in front of her. When she saw the door to the stairway close, she took a deep breath and entered the stairway too.

At first, Elena stood silently and listened for footsteps. When she heard none, confusion enveloped her being. Either he was already out of the staircase, or he was waiting quietly for her to approach him.

Elena motioned for Alaric to stay at the base of the stairs. He frowned at her, but nodded in understanding. She moved up the first few stairs quietly. When the staircase turned, she forced herself to remain calm and quickly turn too. The next few stairs were clear, but she wasn't sure how much longer this would go on.

Her palms were sweaty and it made holding onto the blade even more difficult. She wanted for this to end, but was also doubting her courage at facing her uncle. She hoped she didn't have to fight this fight by herself.

When she turned onto the next flight of stairs, she looked out the stairwell doors. Although she didn't see her uncle, she could see that the front door of the school was open. There was no telling how far ahead he was by now.

She opened the doors to the first floor then and took a step toward the front doors. A scream escaped her lips as she was tackled and sent to the floor. The dagger clattered to the floor and skidded across its surface. It was completely out of reach, and Elena had no hope of getting to it.

By that time, John was on top of her and choking her. She could barely breathe and didn't have enough space to try to launch an attack of her own. A gasp escaped her lips as she tried to move away from his restraining hands. When all of John's weight was knocked from her body, she saw Alaric mounting an attack of his own.

For a few seconds, Elena laid there and gasped for breath. She held onto her neck and felt a new wave of terror wash over her being as she didn't feel her necklace.

Elena forced herself to get up then and move toward the location the dagger was housed in. She grabbed onto its hilt quickly, but then moved slowly toward the fight. Alaric was easily winning as his fists connected with John's face time after time. There was some form of deep vengeance in this fight. Elena liked watching them fight, and that thought completely scared her.

"Alaric, get his ring off," Elena finally said. Alaric looked up at her in question, but he grabbed onto John's hand and tugged at the ring. It came off easily and then Alaric tossed it to Elena.

"Where is my necklace?" Elena asked John with hatred filling every word.

"I don't have it," he said before he spat at Alaric's face. A frown crossed Alaric's face before he punched John again.

"Tell me the truth John. You don't have your ring anymore. You can die."

"Really? I wasn't aware of that," John replied sarcastically. "I didn't take it Elena."

Confusion claimed Elena as she thought back to the past couple of hours. She knew she had the necklace when she left the Salvatore Manor to come to the school, but that was the last time she remembered seeing it. If she didn't have it on in the classroom, the vampire could have compelled her to do anything he wanted. If she had been that vulnerable, why had John not acted on that weakness?

"Let him up," Elena told Alaric as a frown covered her face. "Search him for the necklace."

Alaric nodded weakly as he pushed John around. John didn't appear too happy about being searched. In one swift motion, John pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot Alaric in the chest. Alaric staggered back a few steps before he fell loudly to the floor.

"You can either let me go Elena, or I will kill you too," John spoke slowly.

"You were going to kill me before, why not kill me now?" Elena asked as she crossed her arms. "Nothing has changed."

"Everything has changed," John whispered softly.

But then Damon showed up out of no where and quickly snapped John's neck. John's body fell to the floor with a thud and Elena shivered.

"He can't hurt you anymore."

Elena nodded slowly as Damon came to her. He wrapped her in his strong arms and for just a moment, she allowed herself to become lost in them. Her uncle had tried to kill her and now he was dead. That thought alone was enough to drive her crazy.

"Put that ring on," Damon said as he looked deep into Elena's eyes. She knew he could have compelled her to do so, but was glad he didn't.

After she put it on, she motioned to her neck. "I need my necklace."

"I know," he cursed. "I don't remember you losing it. You had it when you came into the school, but it was gone when I entered the classroom to save you from John and Unlucky."

Elena arched an eyebrow before she finally caught on. Then, she rolled her eyes. "Do you name all your victims?"

"Only the pathetic ones," he grinned. Then, he turned to the floor where John's and Alaric's bodies lay. Alaric's body had already started to heal and he occasionally twitched on the floor. Thankfully, John's body stayed still.

"Alaric can take care of this," Damon reassured her. "He can tell the police about John killing the secretary in the dark classroom. He'll talk about how you escaped and how John ran after you. Then, he'll say that he met up with you here and killed John before he could kill you. I'll dispose of the vampire's body and no one will ever truly know what happened here."

"Thank you," Elena smiled weakly. "Can part of Alaric's story consist of telling me to go home and get some rest?"

"I'm sure it can," Damon nodded.

It felt like hours passed while Damon snuck away to erase the security camera footage and prevent it from capturing what was about to happen. When Alaric finally regained consciousness, Elena filled him in on the details of the lie. He didn't seem too thrilled about the cover-up, but understood why it had to be done. By the time Damon had returned, Elena was ready to go.

"Be careful Alaric," Damon nodded.

"You too," Alaric replied.

Damon took one last look at the mess before he turned and opened the door for Elena. It was still raining outside, but the sun was attempting to break away from the clouds. Even though this storm appeared to be over, another dark cloud hung on the horizon. Hopefully they would have some answers before the next wave came.

* * *

a/n: So, was John working with Katherine, Isobel, or was he independent of everyone? And what happened to Elena's necklace? Please review and tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 4 Everything

a/n: I'm sorry it took me so long to get this up. Everything has been completely crazy lately. I'm taking an online summer class and it is intense. I'm also going to start another fan fiction that is set right after the season finale. You should check it out! And I'm not too happy with this chapter, but it had to be written to set everything else that's going to happen up. I hope you like it! I would greatly appreciate it if you would review!

Chapter 4 Everything

_In the night I hear them talk,  
__Coldest story ever told.  
__Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul,  
__To a woman so heartless.  
__-Heartless by The Fray_

Later that night, Elena sat on her bed and thought about the previous hours. Damon had left her some time ago to attempt to find Stefan. It had taken a lot to convince Damon to leave. He had only agreed to go when both Alaric and Anna were in the house. Truthfully, Elena felt safer with them here. Alaric would be able to stop any vampire who tried to come through the front door. And if by some odd occurrence someone made it past Alaric, Anna would be there to protect her brother. Hopefully, Stefan would stay away from her house, but Elena didn't think that would happen.

Letting out a deep breath, Elena laid back on her soft covers. The policemen had spent almost an hour with her earlier, asking her questions and trying to find a hole in her story. Thankfully, she didn't have one. Her story matched up perfectly with the one Alaric had given them earlier. And with no camera footage, the police were left to rely on their story. Right now, Elena was just glad they were gone.

All of a sudden, Elena felt a strong wind whip past her body. She sat up and looked at Damon. His expression was grim and she could tell he hadn't found any trace of Stefan. Worry lined his eyes and Elena offered him a weak smile. Despite all that had happened in the past few days, Stefan was still Damon's brother and it caused Damon far too much pain to not know where Stefan was.

Slowly, Elena got up and embraced Damon. His embrace was strong and it helped steady her own nerves. As she inhaled, the smell of rain enveloped her senses. He smelled amazing and his dark shirt made him appear even more perfect. It took all her strength to end the hug, and even more strength than she had to walk away from him and toward the window.

"The weather forecast showed another storm that's supposed to come through tonight," she said as she looked out into the dark night. Nothing stirred and that calm made her nervous.

"At least people should stay inside."

"That won't stop Stefan from compelling them to let him enter."

She turned from the window and looked at him now. His eyes looked sad, and she longed to comfort him. She was one of the few people he allowed to see him like this. Right now, she was completely thankful for that.

Then, he arched an eyebrow and she arched one of her own. He pointed to the ring she wore and offered a weak smile.

"I want you to keep that on," Damon said hoarsely. "With all that's going on, you need all the help you can get."

Elena glanced down at the ring for the first time since she had put it on. It had been her uncle's, but she had taken it from him only seconds before he had been killed. The power it held was unimaginable. The ring allowed the wearer to be brought back to life after being killed. Alaric had spoken countless times about how much pain the dying and reawakening processes had been. Still, that pain was better than death.

When she looked back at Damon, she crossed her arms and sighed.

"I want you to stay at the house tonight," Elena spoke softly. "Even with Anna and Alaric here, I'd feel safer if you were here too."

A wicked smile crossed Damon's face. "And here I thought you just wanted my company."

Elena rolled her eyes as a smile crossed her lips. "You know you're my friend Damon."

"I know."

Forcing herself to move, Elena walked across the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"How much of John's conversation did you hear?"

"All of it," he replied as he took his own seat. "It seems like many people are involved in this battle."

"Do you think my mom or Katherine had Stefan released?"

Damon's eyes turned tired. He looked at Elena and tried to convey all his emotions through that glance. "Whoever helped Stefan get out was insanely strong. I didn't even sense that someone else was in the house during the time Stefan escaped. Whoever that person was, I don't want to cross them."

"I don't think we'll have a choice."

That same, wicked grin reappeared across his perfect face. "We could always go somewhere else until all this blows over."

Elena frowned at that. "I can't leave my family and friends unprotected."

"It was just a joke," Damon spoke slowly, but then his eyebrows creased in concentration. "Unless…"

She sighed. "Unless what?"

"Unless they'll follow us. We could come up with a trap and let them walk headfirst into it."

"But we don't even know who we're up against."

"Which could pose a problem," he smiled. "We'll figure something out Elena." He reached inside his pocket and took out her journal. He laid it gently on the bed before he got up to leave.

Quickly Elena stood up too. She watched Damon walk across the room. She wasn't sure exactly where he was going, but knew there were still many things that had to be discussed.

"Did it mean anything to you?" she asked softly. He turned around slowly and looked deep into her eyes. She could feel every ounce of his being gaze into her own.

"It meant _everything_ Elena."

All her courage faltered at that moment. He walked over to her slowly and placed his hands gently at the back of her neck. He brought her face up to his and kissed her as delicately as he possibly could.

"I won't break," she whispered.

The next time he kissed her, she could feel every ounce of passion he held inside of him. It was overwhelming and completely breathtaking. If this was what forever felt like, she wanted every single ounce of it.

But then Damon pulled away, and that perfection shattered.

"I'm not the good guy Elena," Damon began slowly. "I'm not the one who will be the hero at the end of this story. I'm not like Stefan used to be. I'm just not good."

"You _are_ good Damon," she insisted. "The very fact that you care that Stefan is missing proves that."

"That just makes me selfish. Whatever form of a soul I had was taken by Katherine a long time ago."

"Then we'll just have to get it back," Elena replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You're not going to change my mind about this." She reached up to him and kissed him gently on the lips. "Please stop arguing."

Damon nodded before he kissed her again. Elena quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body closer to Damon's. He held her securely to him as he deepened each kiss. If Damon wasn't holding her up, Elena was sure she would have collapsed by now.

A smirk crossed Damon's lips then and his next kiss was thrown off. Elena took a step back and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?"

Damon's only response was to hold up his hand and signal for her to wait. She crossed her arms again just as the door to her room exploded open.

"If you touch my sister again-" Jeremy yelled as he pushed his way into the room. Anna stood slightly behind him and offered Damon and Elena an apologetic smile.

"You'll do what?" Damon smirked.

"I know ways to get rid of your kind," Jeremy glared.

Elena took this moment to glance quickly from Damon to Jeremy. Then, she stepped forward and took a stand between her brother and Damon.

"What did you just say?"

Jeremy turned to Elena and shook his head. "I know everything Elena. I got tired of you lying to me and read your journal to find out the truth."

Closing her eyes, Elena let out a deep breath. When she reopened her eyes, sadness glistened across their surface. "I was trying to protect you Jeremy."

"By lying to me?" he snapped. "If it wasn't for Anna, I would have never remembered the truth. Lying to me didn't erase the pain; it just made me forget why I had it."

"I'm so sorry."

"And now you're with him." Jeremy pointed an accusing finger as his anger flared. "At least Stefan was a decent guy."

"Watch it," Damon said as he stepped toward Jeremy. Elena grabbed Damon gently to pull him back, but Damon growled in response. "Let go."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "You're not going to hurt him."

"Elena's right." Anna took three steps forward and stood in front of Damon. "You'll have to cross me to get to him."

Damon closed the distance between himself and Anna and glared at her. "That brother of mine who Jeremy so nicely called decent is more than likely out there killing people right now. And since you told Jeremy about what was going on between Elena and I, I'm sure you also heard that someone is out there orchestrating a plan to take Elena. And believe me, if I was going to hurt Elena, I'd start with her family."

"I won't let anyone touch him," Anna replied passionately.

"Emotions will only get you killed." Damon crossed his arms over his chest. "I would think you would remember that after what happened to make you become a vampire."

"You have no right bringing that up."

"I have every right."

Anna glared. "Then what is your plan?"

A smirk crossed Damon's lips. "It's simple. Alaric will stay at this house as much as possible. We'll take shifts going back and forth between searching for Stefan and staying with Elena and Jeremy."

"Do we get a choice or are you just going to order us around?" Elena snapped. "I'm not going to sit around and wait for you to find the answers when someone is out there planning on ways to kill me."

"I'm not asking you to," Damon responded quickly.

Elena nodded as she took the John's ring from her finger. She held it in her hands for only a few seconds before she tossed it to Jeremy. He caught it easily and then arched an eyebrow in response.

"What's this for?"

"As long as you have that on, you can't be killed," Elena replied. "I'd rather you have it than me. I'm the one they want. I don't want you to be hurt because of it."

Part of Jeremy's anger toward her visually disappeared. "Thank you." But then he shook his head. "I can't take this though Elena. I'd rather you be safe."

Elena frowned. "If you're outside of this house, I want you to wear it. If I'm outside and you're not, I'll wear it."

Nodding, Jeremy slipped the ring onto his finger. He gazed at it for a few seconds before he scrunched his nose.

"It's not very manly."

Elena smiled. "Staying alive is more important than your masculinity."

"Maybe." He eyed the ring one more time before he shrugged.

"I think we need to get out of here," Anna spoke up as she turned to Jeremy. "There's a lot we need to discuss before I take my shift looking for Stefan."

Elena watched them leave in an overwhelming silence. When they were out, she glanced to Damon. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't speak up. Instead, he walked over to her window and closed the blinds and curtains.

"I'm going to go check on Alaric," he finally said. "You need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day."

Frowning, Elena sat down on the edge of the bed. She wanted to tell Damon to come to her, that she didn't want to sleep, and that tomorrow they could worry about everything else, but knew Stefan was probably out there harming people. She didn't want someone to be hurt because she was selfish. With pain stabbing through her being, Elena watched him walk out of the room. Then, when she could no longer hear him, she laid down on the covers of her bed and fell into a restless sleep.


	5. Chapter 5 The Fortune Teller

a/n: So this is by far my favorite chapter I've written so far. I finished my summer class about a week ago so I should be able to update at least once a week, maybe more often. I hope you enjoy! And please review!

* * *

Chapter 5 The Fortune Teller

_With a wicked pack of cards, Here, said she,  
__Is your card… the lady of situations.  
_-The Wasteland by T. S. Eliot

That night, she dreamed of him. It wasn't the calm, loving dreams she remembered having only months ago. These dreams were full blown nightmares that threatened to break her entire core. Every time she looked into his eyes, she could only see the intense hunger that consumed him. This wasn't the Stefan she had once loved. This being was much more demonic, and far scarier. And every time she woke up from those horrible nightmares, she was drenched in sweet and confined in a feeling of helplessness.

Slowly, Elena pulled herself from the tangle of bed sheets she was smothered by and looked toward her window. To her surprise, Damon stood there. He didn't move when she stood up, but instead, continued staring out into the expanse of night that was before him.

For a few minutes, Elena stood and took in his utter beauty. The moonlight streaked his dark hair and made glints of a bluish-silver appear. His eyes, the ones that looked so longingly into the night, carried such concern that it took Elena's breath away. She knew it was her duty to help save Stefan, he had been the one she had loved for so long, but her entire reason for staying was founded on the boy standing in front of her. Amidst all the pain and chaos her life had become, he had never lied or hurt her. And it was in that security that she found complete and utter peace.

"What are you thinking about?" she finally whispered.

"Nothing about this feels right," Damon shrugged as his eyes finally turned to Elena. "The news should be covered with stories about deaths and disappearances of town members. What's going on? Why hasn't he attacked anyone?"

"I don't know." Elena shook her head. "Maybe he's stronger than we've given him credit for."

"Or maybe the person who has him is waiting for the perfect time to attack."

Elena fell quiet at that. She wasn't good at comforting this vampire brother. All of her expertise rested in her knowledge of Stefan. She did the only thing she really knew how to do and walked over to Damon and wrapped him in her arms.

"All of this will work out in the end," she said softly. "We'll get Stefan back."

She felt Damon's grasp on her loosen and in only seconds he pulled away from her.

"And then you go back to him, right?" Damon asked. He didn't sound angry, just hurt. "He gets out of this blood craze he's on and you see the person he's meant to be. You remember how much you love him and everything goes back to normal. A twisted fairy tale, right?"

Elena had to stop herself from punching Damon in the face. Could he really be that ignorant?

"I'm not going back to Stefan," she snapped. "I don't love him anymore."

She had never said those words out loud to anyone. Now, she felt as if saying those words made her thoughts truer. She no longer doubted her feelings of Stefan. She knew exactly how she felt toward him and those feelings were no longer enough.

"Then what is that supposed to mean?" Damon finally asked.

"I want to be with you."

Damon nodded, but remained relatively quiet for a few minutes. "You need to go to sleep Elena. We have a long day tomorrow."

Part of Elena wanted to continue the conversation now, but another part was too tired to argue. She walked back over to her bed and sat down on the covers. Instead of sleeping, she just sat there and watched Damon as he gazed into the night. Finally, tiredness claimed her being and she fell into a more restful sleep.

* * *

When Elena woke up the next morning, Damon was no where in sight. Instead, she found a note on her dresser that told her to meet him downstairs. With the anxiety of this whole mess on her mind, she quickly took a shower and got dressed. Only when she descended the stairs did she realize how quiet her house was.

The kitchen was empty except for Damon. He stood at the island and offered Elena a smile.

"Where is everyone at?" Elena asked as she took an apple from nearby.

"Jeremy and Anna have been scouting the area and asking people if they've seen Stefan recently. If they find anything, they're supposed to call my cell phone. And Alaric took Jenna to his place for a nice, romantic getaway. He knew that it would be safe from vampire attacks."

Elena nodded. That plan sounded perfect. "And what is our job going to be?"

"We're going to visit Bonnie."

At that, Elena frowned. "She made it pretty clear the last time we talked that she wasn't going to help me."

"She's all we have right now," Damon shrugged. "And she'll listen to you."

Elena shook her head. "I doubt that." But then she shrugged too. "I'll try Damon, but I'm not promising anything." Then, she arched an eyebrow. "What do you want me to talk to her about?"

"I want her to track Stefan."

Elena's eyes grew wide. "What?"

"Tracking is one of the easier tricks a witch can do," Damon smiled. "I'm sure she'll be willing to track Stefan so he can be staked in the heart. We just need to make sure to get to him before she does."

Slowly, Elena nodded. "I'm sure she'll need something of Stefan's."

"I already have it," Damon replied as he pulled a silver chain from his pocket. "He hasn't worn this in a while, but it should still work."

Elena offered him a weak smile. "Then let's go."

* * *

"You want me to do what?" Bonnie snapped for what felt like the thousandth time. Elena's patience was growing painstakingly thin.

"You want this thing with Stefan to end? Track him."

Bonnie's gaze lingered on Damon. "I made it perfectly clear how I feel about him Elena."

"Then a truce," Damon shrugged as he leaned against the door frame. "I vow to not spill a drop of innocent blood or your full wrath can descend upon me."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "You have no idea what my full wrath is capable of." Then, she stretched out of her hand. "Truce."

A smirk crossed Damon's lips as he shook her offered hand. As he let go of her, he motioned inside. "May we enter?"

"If you must." Bonnie retreated into her house, but left the door open for Elena and Damon to enter. Damon gave the area a quick sweep to make sure no one was spying on them before he closed the door behind him.

Bonnie led them through the house and up to what Damon decided was her room. The walls were painted a light lavender and white covered her bed. The floors were hardwood and had slight remnants of chalk on their surface. Damon wasn't completely sure what to expect, but he knew he'd never see anything like this again.

While Damon and Elena stood there, Bonnie drew a triangle with chalk on her floor. Damon didn't know much about magic, but knew that the number three was important to white witches. He also saw Bonnie grab three lavender candles and place them at the tips of the triangle. She muttered something in a language Damon didn't understand and the candles almost instantly sprung to life.

"Come and stand on one of the legs of the triangle," Bonnie ordered as she took her place on one of the sides. "You do have something of Stefan's, right?"

Damon moved then and took the silver chain from his pocket. He handed it to Bonnie and she quickly placed it in the center of the circle. Then she held her hands out and waited for Damon and Elena to follow.

Apprehensively, Damon joined hands with Elena and Bonnie. He had never completely trusted this witch, and now, his suspicions were growing. He had seen a few tracking spells performed before, but he had never seen one quite like this one.

Bonnie then closed her eyes and muttered more foreign words. Damon wasn't sure what to do so he closed his eyes too and listened to Bonnie's monologue.

The power that skimmed across the surface of the triangle made Damon want to back up. It wasn't what he was used to and he almost felt like the power was attacking him. He shuffled his feet before his hand received a harsh squeeze from Bonnie.

Resigned, Damon focused back on Bonnie and listened to what she was saying. After a few minutes, Damon realized that she was repeating the same phrase, although he had no idea what it meant. Then, all of a sudden, Bonnie stopped speaking and tensed up. She took in a sharp breath and then fell deathly silent.

Damon wasn't sure whether to open his eyes or keep them shut. Hoping that his life wasn't in danger, he attuned his senses to the world around him, but kept his eyes tightly closed. Only when Bonnie let go of his hand did he look up.

The room was dark now. The candles had been blown out and the smoke drifted up toward the ceiling. Tears were falling from Bonnie's face as she turned to Elena with a look of betrayal on her face.

"I've never seen the future before," Bonnie said softly as she shook her head. "I was trying to find where Stefan was now, but I had a premonition." She shook her head more violently this time. "I've never seen the future before."

"What did you see Bonnie?" Elena almost shrieked. "What did you see?"

"You were with him," Bonnie replied as if she'd just been sacrificed. "You acted like this was a plan to stop him, but it never was. You were _with_ him Elena."

"Who?" Elena said as she held onto Bonnie's shoulders for dear life. "Who was I with Bonnie? Stefan?"

"Yes!" Bonnie screamed. "You were _with_ him."

Then and there, Damon understood the context of what had been said. Everything Elena had said earlier about not loving his brother had only been a lie. Everything he feared would happen was going to. And just like always, he was going to end up alone.

"Get out of here," Bonnie demanded as she pushed Elena away. "You walked into here begging for my help when you were going to use it against me." Tears were streaming from Bonnie's face now. "Go Elena, before I do something I'll regret."

Slowly, Elena nodded. She looked to Damon, but remained quiet as she left the room. Damon turned back to Bonnie one last time and felt part of his nonexistent heart shatter. He was sure that the look of betrayal on Bonnie's face was mirrored in his own.

"I'm sorry," Bonnie mouthed and for some reason, Damon knew she meant it.

Then, Damon turned on his heel and walked into his bleak and lonely future.

* * *

a/n: PLEASE review. I really like to know what you think of each chapter. I also like knowing what people think is going on so please post any ideas you have about this story on there too. Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6 Death

a/n: I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up. I have the outlines for the rest of the chapters so they shouldn't take as long to write as this one did. And please remember to review. Reviews are very important to writers. They help us know what people think of our story and whether or not we need to continue it. A little feedback would be nice. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Six Death

_Nobody said it was easy,  
It's such a shame for us to part,  
Nobody said it was easy,  
No one ever said it would be this hard,  
Oh take me back to the start._  
-The Scientist by Coldplay

The car ride was silent as they headed back for Elena's house. Elena wanted to say something to make the situation better, but didn't know what to say. Over the past few days, she had learned more about herself than she ever thought she would know. Everything inside of her screamed that she wanted to be with Damon. Why then, had Bonnie seen her with Stefan?

As they pulled up to her house, waves of relief washed through her being. She was tired of the silent treatment Damon was giving her, although she could hardly blame him for it. And at least now she could hopefully talk to her family and come up with a plan to end the nonsense that was going on.

When the car stopped, she didn't hesitate to open the door and walk toward the house. Damon followed her, but stayed a good distance behind her. Even though she had told him how she felt the previous night, she didn't think Damon believed her. He still thought she wanted his brother, no matter what she said.

The house was quiet and a frown crossed Elena's lips as she entered the place. She had expected Jeremy and Anna to be back. Now, she was just left with a very quiet Damon.

When Damon meandered off to the kitchen, Elena turned toward the staircase. Part of her wanted to go upstairs and just sleep this nightmare off, but she couldn't force herself to do that. Instead, she left the stairs and followed Damon.

"Talk to me Damon," she said as she moved into the kitchen. Damon stared out the window and his gaze didn't move as Elena walked toward him. "I want-"

"You want what Elena?" Damon snapped as he turned to her. "You want to be with me? I've heard that cliché before. I've finished buying into it."

"It's not a lie." Her anger was blaring. "Look at me Damon. I don't have my necklace anymore. Compel me Damon. Make me tell you how I fell."

"Don't tempt me," Damon growled as he looked deep into her eyes.

Elena's eyes grew wide as she thought back to the night she had kissed Damon. He had asked her if he was compelling her, but she had had her own fears too. She had worried about the fact that she looked like Katherine. Why didn't she connect the dots earlier?

"It was Katherine," Elena gasped. She looked up to Damon and was relieved when the revelation of it all dawned on his smooth face.

"I'm going to _kill_ that demon," he cursed. "She will regret that she ever changed me."

Letting out a deep breath, Elena crossed her arms over her chest. "Can we defeat her?"

"I hope so." He raked a hand through his dark hair. "We need to get everyone back here as soon as possible and come up with a plan."

"I'm on it," Elena nodded as she grabbed her phone. She dialed her brother's number and frowned when he didn't answer. She punched a few more buttons and called Jenna. Jenna answered the phone quickly and Elena told her to get home as soon as possible. Elena had no desire to attempt to explain something like this to her aunt over the phone.

About thirty minutes later, Jenna and Alaric arrived. Alaric held up a necklace and offered it to Elena. At first, she had no idea what to make of it, but then he explained that it held vervain. It wasn't as ornate as her first one had been, but she accepted it willingly. She needed all the help she could get.

Smiling weakly at Alaric, she walked into the living room and got ready to make war plans.

* * *

The rest of the day they worked on explaining their current mess to Jenna and coming up with a plan. They had called Jeremy and Anna countless times, but they still didn't receive a response. Elena was starting to get worried. She was just ready for this nightmare to be over.

While Jenna and Alaric worked on cooking, Damon and Elena sat in the living area. Elena wanted to know what Damon was thinking about, but he remained completely silent. The only comfort he gave her came from the hand that was currently intertwined with her own.

Slowly, she let go of Damon and walked toward her ringing phone. She didn't recognize the number and was hesitate to pick it up. She was just about to answer it when she heard a car pull up in the driveway. Glancing back to Damon, she saw the worried expression on his face. As a knock echoed on the door, Damon nodded and Elena moved to open it.

"Sheriff Forbes," Elena said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for your aunt," Liz replied as she motioned toward the living room. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Elena waited for the sheriff to enter the house and then closed the door behind her. "Jenna is in the kitchen. I'll go get her."

As Elena moved away, she noticed that the sheriff had walked toward Damon and was already discussing things with him. She wondered what was going on and whether Damon knew the truth yet or not. She was ready to figure out what all this was about.

Only a few seconds later, Elena walked back into the living room with Alaric and Jenna.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked quickly and Elena could see the fear in her eyes.

"If I were you, I'd sit down," Sheriff Forbes said as she stood up and offered Jenna her seat. Jenna merely shook her head and remained standing. Elena used that time to cross the room and sit down beside Damon in the now vacant seat.

"Okay," Liz nodded. She let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry to tell you this Ms. Gilbert, but Jeremy's dead."

"What?" Jenna gasped.

"About an hour ago we received a phone call from a worker at the Grill. She was taking trash to the dumpster when she saw a boy lying in the alley. She walked over to him, but he was already dead. There was a girl named Anna, who we now have at the police station, there too. She hadn't been hurt, but couldn't really remember much about the attack. She said it was some kind of animal, but wasn't sure what it was."

Elena glanced up to her aunt and took in the shock on Jenna's face. Despite what Liz had told them, Elena still had a tinge of hope that her brother wasn't dead. He had been wearing the ring today. She had no idea how long it took the wearer to come back to life, but knew the time couldn't be that long. Hopefully he would come back to life soon and everyone could brush this incident off.

"Thank you for telling us," Jenna nodded. "Will I need to go identify the body?"

"Yes," Liz replied. "I know it's Jeremy, but there was no form of id on him. This is simply procedure."

"I understand." Jenna's strength greatly impressed Elena. "When can I go?"

"Now if you want to." Liz offered Jenna an understanding smile. "You can follow me to the hospital. I'm going there now anyway."

Letting out a deep sigh, Jenna nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

Elena stood in the gray colored room and waited for the doctor to let them identify Jeremy's body. Before Jenna had left, Elena had made it clear that she was going with her. Jeremy was her family too and they needed to face this together. After talking to Damon for a few minutes, he had finally agreed to go find Anna. They needed to know exactly what had occurred in that alleyway, especially if something had really happened to Jeremy.

Elena returned her attention to the doctor and watched him motion to a table where a body was covered up with a large sheet. The doctor didn't waste any time pulling the sheet off and revealing the boy underneath.

As the reality of this hit her, the shock consumed Elena's being. Jeremy looked completely dead. There was no color in his face and his body was stone cold. The doctor had revealed enough of the body that Elena could see both his hands. Although she checked his fingers multiple times, she had to admit that the ring wasn't there. Jeremy was really dead.

Then, Elena forced herself to look back over his body and determine the injuries he had incurred. It was easy to see the scratches that covered his skin. The wound on his neck was the one that caught her attention the most. Instead of seeing the vampire marks she had expected to see, she instead saw a deep gash. She was sure the bites had been there at one point, but the vampire had slashed his neck to cover their tracks. Whoever was behind this was smart. That was easy to see.

Beside Elena, she could hear Jenna croak, "That's Jeremy."

It was hard for Elena to breathe then. She had never expected her brother to die during this war. Seeing his icy body now only brought in her mind the full effects of this war. No one was safe now.

As Elena stared at his lifeless form, she thought back to Anna. Right now, Elena was ready for answers. She hoped Damon was getting them.

But then the lights in the room flickered and Elena glanced to Jenna. She took in her horrified expression just moments before the lights finally went out. Then, she heard a body collapse onto the floor.


	7. Chapter 7 Dying Alone

a/n: So this chapter is shorter than most of my chapters have been, but I deeply enjoy the end of this chapter. I hope you enjoy! Please review! And the more reviews I receive, the quicker I will post the next chapter.

Chapter Seven Dying Alone

_I told myself the constant pain,  
Could've eased the tension burning inside,  
But the nights were cold…  
I will die here, alone I will die._  
A Vampire's Lament by Atreyu

Damon had watched Alaric's car pull out of the driveway with a mixture of worry and confusion on his face. It made absolutely no sense that Jeremy had randomly been killed during this time. Damon still thought Jeremy would be alive, but something didn't feel right about the whole situation. And if Jeremy really was dead, they were going to have to be ready to fight back.

He grabbed his jacket from off the back of the couch and found his car keys. He had just opened the door when he saw another car pull up into the driveway. After a few minutes, Anna opened the car door and looked at him through tear soaked eyes.

"He's really dead Damon," she said softly as she moved up to the door.

Damon frowned. He was in no mood to offer sympathy to her.

"I was just getting ready to leave," Damon said as he pointed to his own car. "You can come with me and fill me in on what happened."

"There's something you need to know first." Anna glanced into the night and allowed her fear to reflect on her face. "Can we talk about it before you leave?"

Damon heaved a heavy sigh. "If we must." For just a few moments, he turned his back on Anna and looked back into the house. Then, he felt the intense pain that catapulted through his body as a foreign substance entered his veins. He had a brief moment of sanity where he saw Anna drop a vervain dart beside his body before everything went black.

Elena had to suppress the desire to scream when she heard the doctor's body collapse to the ground. The backup lights flickered on then and brought a dull yellow light to the gray room. When Elena glanced around the area, she didn't see anything unusual. The doctor lay in a crumbled mass on the floor, but there was no one else besides Jenna in the room. At least Elena didn't see anything until she detected movement behind one of the many counters.

A scream echoed throughout the area and it took Elena a minute to realize it had come from Jenna. Her aunt was quickly backing away from the closest counter and toward the back wall. A wave of fear raced through Elena's body. If they kept backing up, they would be trapped.

Glancing back to the place she had seen the movement come from, she saw a tall man she assumed was a vampire stand up and glare at them. He didn't look too happy about being in this morgue or that Elena and Jenna were in here. Stifling a scream, Elena took one more hesitant step backward.

Then, she glanced around at the medical supplies around her. She saw countless scapulas, scissors, and other various medical instruments that would be no help against a vampire. She needed something wooden if she had any chance of surviving this mess.

With tears in her eyes, Elena grabbed a scapula from the nearest cart. She turned to Jenna then and offered her aunt a weak smile.

"Run Jenna," Elena said softly. "Just get to safety. I'll be alright."

"I'm not leaving you here," Jenna gasped. "You're my responsibility."

"We don't have time for this," Elena snapped. She took the scapula and sliced her forearm. "Go get Alaric."

She had expected the pain to come immediate, but it didn't. Instead, it took almost a minute for her to feel the brute force of the unbearable pain. She screamed; she couldn't help it. Jenna had taken a few steps away from her and the vampire had inched his way closer. He looked hungry, almost feral, in his quest for Elena's life.

Jenna dashed from the room and the loneliness of it all consumed Elena. She had never pictured dying like this and the fact that she had to face death by herself was almost too much to bear. The only relief she had was that the vampire moved slowly toward her. He apparently wanted to take his time in ending her life.

But then, everything changed. Elena watched as Anna raced and fluidly staked the vampire. The vampire crumbled to the ground and Elena nodded weakly at Anna.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Anna glanced quickly at Jeremy's cold body before her gaze returned to Elena and her bleeding arm. "We need to get that fixed." She ripped a piece off the nearest sheet and walked over to Elena. Quickly, Anna tied the tourniquet around the wound.

Then, Elena grasped Anna in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry about Jeremy."

"Yeah," Anna smiled weakly as she pulled away. "We can worry about sympathy later. Right now, we just need to get out of here."

"I couldn't agree more."

As they left the room, they were met by a frantic Jenna and a worried Alaric.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jenna breathed as she hugged Elena. "I was so scared I wouldn't get to Alaric in time. And then Anna showed up."

"This isn't the time for this," Anna huffed. Her patience was growing thin. "I doubt the vampire was alone. I'd rather not find out."

Nodding, they all turned and raced out of the hospital and into the parking lot. They were mere feet from Alaric's vehicle when Anna's phone rang.

"That's strange," Anna said before she picked up the phone. "Damon? Is everything okay?" Her eyes met Elena's. "Of course. I'll bring Elena there now." She quickly hung up the phone and turned to face the group.

Elena's mind was reeling. "What's going on?"

"He found an area in the cemetery where white magic is very strong. He thinks we can use it to beat whoever is after you."

Letting out a deep breath, Elena looked to Jenna. "You two need to get back to Alaric's house and gather as many weapons as possible. We're going to need everything you have if we're going to get through this."

"I'm on it," Alaric nodded. "Be careful Elena."

"I will," she smiled. "I'll let you know how everything goes."

Elena gave Jenna a brief hug before she turned and walked to Anna's car. She had never seen the car before, but deeply admired Anna's tastes. It was a beautiful red Mustang that looked like it could handle anything that was thrown at it. Elena deeply hoped it could get them back to her house in one piece.

As Anna drove, Elena sat there in silence. Everything inside of Elena wanted to ask Anna about Jeremy's death, but right now, Elena felt like the comment would be insensitive. Anna had more than likely already retold the story to Damon and Elena wasn't thrilled about making someone relive that sort of pain. There would be plenty of time for grieving later. Right now, they had to focus on their plan of harnessing the power in the graveyard.

Taking out her phone, Elena typed a quick message to Bonnie explaining the events of the previous day. Tears formed in her eyes as she mentioned Jeremy's death, but those tears quickly turned to anger as her phone refused to get signal.

"We're too close to the cemetery to get service," Anna spoke up from the driver's seat. "Who were you trying to contact?"

"Bonnie." Elena frowned. "If we're going to utilize this white energy, it would help to have a witch."

"You'll see her soon enough," Anna shrugged.

Elena arched an eyebrow, but didn't speak as the car came to a halt. Slowly, Elena pried her door open and took her first step out into the cool night.

It was disorienting being here now, especially with the death of her brother consuming all her thoughts. She could see the outlines of the various tombstones as they spread out across the vast land. Trees occasionally disrupted the otherwise flat landscape and the immensity of it all was hard for Elena to deal with.

"Where exactly are we supposed to meet Damon?" Elena asked when she forced herself to gaze at Anna.

"Just follow me."

It took all of Elena's strength to follow Anna through the cold tombstones. The moon hung behind a thick span of clouds and refused to reemerge from its hiding place. Elena had to use her cell phone to help her maneuver across the rough ground. For a second her cell phone registered that she had signal, but before she could get back to her saved message, the service disappeared again.

After they had been walking for about five minutes, nervousness started to creep its way into Elena's body. They hadn't been able to see the car for quite some time and if anything happened, Elena wasn't sure what exactly they would do.

"Here we are," Anna spoke up.

Elena glanced around and frowned. The area was void of any graves and trees. The openness of it all made Elena feel unprotected. And when she glanced around for Damon, he was no where to be found.

She had just opened her mouth to say something to Anna when she caught movement from the other side of the small clearing. Letting out a deep breath, Elena allowed her gaze to fall on the woman.

In that moment, Elena's breath was completely taken away. The woman was beautiful with her curly brown hair and deep chocolate eyes. She wore an elegant green ballroom dress that made her look otherworldly in this ghostly place. Yet when the woman smiled, Elena suppressed a shudder.

"Hello Elena," the woman mused.

Elena stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hello Katherine."


	8. Chapter 8 The Deceiver

a/n: So this fan fiction is getting really close to being finished. I have two more chapters planned after this one. In this chapter I deeply enjoyed being able to write about Katherine. She's such a fun character to play with. I hope you enjoy it! And please review!

* * *

Chapter Eight The Deceiver

_Don't start, Don't start, shaking again,  
She can make the salt taste like sugar on her hands but,  
If love is a way out, then please let me in,  
Don't start, darling,  
Don't you turn my nightmares into dreams again._  
-Hills Like White Elephants by Isles and Glaciers

_In that moment, Elena's breath was completely taken away. The woman was beautiful with her curly brown hair and deep chocolate eyes. She wore an elegant green ballroom dress that made her look otherworldly in this ghostly place. Yet when the woman smiled, Elena suppressed a shudder. _

"_Hello Elena," the woman mused. _

_Elena stood up straight and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hello Katherine." _

A smile crossed the vampire's lips as she moved toward Elena. She walked around her a few times and took in Elena's frame.

"The resemblances are uncanny," Katherine mused. She lifted up a few strands of Elena's hair, but allowed them to drop back to Elena's shoulders. "I am much more cunning though." Her brown eyes danced with mischief.

Despite the fact that Elena wanted to shiver, she suppressed that desire. "Where is Damon?"

"Hm," Katherine smiled. "That's a good question." She looked to Anna then. "Where is Damon, Anna?"

"Where you told me to leave him," Anna nodded. Elena and Anna shared a brief glance and Elena could see regret in her eyes. "I'm sure Stefan is there now."

Elena's face registered her surprise before she could hide it. She hoped Katherine hadn't seen it, but almost instantly knew that she had.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me why Stefan is with Damon?" Katherine sang as she skipped in the moonlight. Although Elena wanted answers, she had no desire to give in to Katherine. But then Katherine pouted and continued, "You should at least be interested in why Anna helped me bring you here."

"Oh well," Katherine grinned when Elena still didn't speak. "If you won't ask me questions on your own, I'll have to intervene." She snapped her fingers and from a darker part of the graveyard, Elena detected movement. When Elena realized who was coming toward her, she stifled a gasp.

"That's what I thought," Katherine smiled triumphantly. "I took the liberty of showing up at Bonnie's house earlier and begged for her forgiveness. I just couldn't let her get out of this, especially after what Emily did to me."

A chill ran down Elena's back as she watched two male vampires carry Bonnie into the clearing. Bonnie's green eyes were fixed on Elena with a look of pure terror. One of the vampires threw her to the ground while the other brandished a knife.

"You start asking me questions or she dies," Katherine shrugged as she walked back over to Elena.

Elena narrowed her eyes, but began. "Were you the one who kidnapped Stefan?"

"Kidnapped?" Katherine was indignant. "He came of his own free will."

"How did you convince him to leave then?"

"I pretended to be you," she hummed. "It was genius actually. While you were distracting Damon, I came and talked to Stefan. He was still out of it so it was easy to convince him to just leave." She took out her own knife and let the metal trail across Elena's skin. "It was so easy to pretend to be as weak as your are."

"What about when he realized your heart wasn't beating?" Elena asked as she made contact with Katherine's brown orbs. "What did you tell him then?"

"When we were far away, I explained to him how Damon had betrayed us all. As soon as Stefan was caged up, Damon took me, fed me with his blood, and killed me. I told him over and over about the monster Damon had become. He wanted to go back immediately and seek revenge, but I told him to wait. Stefan needed to become more powerful before he took on his brother."

Elena could feel her heart breaking, but she kept her expression emotionless. "And did you give Stefan human blood?"

"Of course," she laughed. "It made him the vampire I always knew he could be."

"Why put the brothers against each other?" Elena arched an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted them both for yourself."

"I did." She shrugged. "They were supposed to reconcile after my supposed death. Then I planned on going back and taking what was mine all along. But they've revealed themselves too much to you. They would never get along and be with me, so instead, I'm letting them fight. The winner will have me for eternity. The loser… Well…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes reflected their demonic nature. "You understand what will happen to the loser."

A chill ran down Elena's spine that she couldn't stop. Katherine ran her finger down Elena's cheek and Elena was forced to bear the icy coolness that came with the touch.

"How will you convince the winner to follow you? I don't exactly see either of them following you after the winner learns the truth."

"Both men's feelings for you are a hindrance," Katherine frowned. "But I thankfully have your friend Bonnie here. And Emily owed me a few favors that I never had the chance to collect on." Katherine looked to Bonnie and Elena wanted to stab her. It wasn't fair that Bonnie had been brought into this. "I'll make sure that the winner remembers his true feelings for me and never remembers you."

"What about Anna?" Elena asked as she glanced away from Katherine. "How did you get her involved?"

"That was the beautiful part," Katherine purred. "I told her I was going to kill Jeremy. It was up to her and the decision she made about helping me whether Jeremy had vampire blood in his veins at the time he died or not."

"So he's alive?" Elena let too much of her optimism show.

"I wouldn't exactly call him alive. He still exists though."

"And what did Anna do to Damon?"

"Filled him with vervain and left him at your house." Katherine couldn't hide her grin. "I thought your house would be the perfect battlefield. Both men could get inside of it. I'm sure the battle has moved its location by now though," she shrugged. "Unless Stefan decided to kill Damon while he still had vervain in his system."

Elena narrowed her eyes. "And who do you want to win?"

"There are things I like about both of them. Damon has a strong desire to protect what's his, but Stefan is stronger when he's on human blood. Either way, I win."

"What about my necklace?"

A wicked grin crossed Katherine's face that revealed her fangs. "I had Anna compel someone to take it off of you to show her allegiance to me. I knew you would get another one, but it was fun watching someone take it without you even realizing it."

Letting out a deep breath, Elena spanned the area. No matter where she looked, she didn't see anything that could help her in this fight. "So are you going to kill me now?"

"Oh no," Katherine mused. "I plan to do much worse things to you."

* * *

As Damon regained consciousness, he spanned the area around him. He sat in a chair in Elena's kitchen with ropes tied around his ankles and wrists. He tried to move, but the vervain was still too strong in his body for him to break free. The lights in the room were dimmed and it took all Damon's human senses to be able to make out the other figure in the room. Part of him didn't believe what he was seeing, but after the week he'd had, this wasn't too hard to believe.

"Stefan," Damon nodded softly as he looked up at his brother. Stefan stood at the island in the center of the room with a knife in his hand. With the large amount of vervain in his system, Damon knew how much that knife would hurt.

"Hello Damon," Stefan replied meticulously as he fingered the metal of the blade. "You had to know that I would come back for you. And to find you at Elena's house." His green eyes danced with vengeance as he shook his head. "I thought you were smarter than that Brother."

Despite the fact that the vervain was wearing off, Damon was still clueless. "What are you talking about?"

"You turned Elena and had the audacity to come back to her house. That seems fairly reckless."

"Elena's a vampire?"

"Don't play games with me," Stefan frowned. "I know what you did to her. You waited until I was weak and forced your blood into her veins. Then, you killed her." A grin crossed his lips then. "It's funny how your Princess of Darkness still came running back to me."

Then, everything fell into place. "You've been with Katherine Stefan." Damon struggled to get loose. "She tricked you into thinking she was Elena. She put you against me."

"Nice try, but I can tell Katherine from Elena. I've been with Elena ever since I left that prison you threw me in."

Damon pulled too hard against his bonds and crashed to the floor. As his head made contact with the tile, he stifled a groan. He could tell he was losing blood quickly and with all the vervain in his system, he knew he couldn't afford to lose much more. If he didn't think of something soon, Stefan was going to kill him.

"Use your senses," Damon began slowly as he watched Stefan march toward where he lay. "You can still smell Elena here. Her scent is new. You wouldn't be able to smell her scent if she died when she said she did."

"You're just trying to trick me!" Stefan growled. "I've had enough of your games."

Damon screamed as Stefan plunged the knife into his body. The knife had apparently been coated with vervain and every single ounce of skin, muscle, and tissue the blade touched burned with pain.

"How does it feel to see your entire world slip away?" Stefan taunted as he pushed the blade deeper into Damon's chest. "Do you want to die Damon?"

The pain was almost unbearable, but Damon forced himself to deal with it. He had no desire to die, especially since Elena was more than likely being tortured by Katherine. So instead of screaming or falling into the blackness that wanted to consume Damon, he merely smirked. "Stab me again Stefan."

A look of pure rage crossed Stefan's face as he pulled the knife back out of Damon's body. Then, Damon heard the gunshot.

* * *

a/n: Please review!


	9. Chapter 9 Overcoming Demons

a/n: So this is the last real chapter I have. I plan on posting a short epilogue later to give a little light as to what happens in the future. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review!

* * *

Chapter Nine Overcoming Demons

_Running, always running, into the distance,  
Stop me before I bleed, again,  
The echoes of my voice,  
Follow me down…  
This horror must not remain. _  
-The Arms of Sorrow by Killswitch Engage

Damon heard the gun fire just as he saw Stefan collapse to the ground. He looked around wildly until his gaze landed on Alaric.

"What was that?" Damon gasped.

A grin crossed Alaric's lips as he untied Damon's bonds. "I tipped bullets with vervain. I wasn't sure if it would work, but it appears to do the trick."

"You do realize how hard it'd be to actually hit a vampire with a bullet if he was paying attention."

"Which is why it's a good thing I had you to distract him."

As Damon stood up, he shrugged off the ropes. Then, he looked Alaric square in the eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he nodded. Then, he arched an eyebrow in confusion. "Where's Elena?"

"With Katherine," Damon replied matter-of-factly. "I just don't know where that would be."

"She's at the graveyard," Jenna spoke up softly as she moved into view. Her eyes were laced with worry. "Anna took her there to meet you. I'm assuming you never got there."

Damon cursed. "Do you have any more weapons?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go."

* * *

With a wicked grin, Katherine tossed her knife to Anna. Anna fluidly caught the blade and held it in her hand.

"What's this for?" Anna asked as her confused eyes took in Katherine's form.

"I want you to cut her," Katherine shrugged. "Prove your allegiance to me."

"I've already proven whose side I'm on."

"Well I want this too." Katherine pouted. "I'm not up for you playing games now. I sent a vampire to collect Jeremy's body a little while ago. Hurt her Anna or I'll hurt Jeremy."

As the knowledge raced through her mind, Elena tried to conceal her shock. The vampire that was supposed to take Jeremy had been killed by Anna.

_Maybe there's still a chance,_ Elena thought. She eyed Katherine with her brown eyes and waited for Katherine to make some sort of move.

Slowly, Anna closed the distance between her and Elena. She seemed intent on stabbing Elena, but at the last second, she turned toward Katherine and offered her the weapon.

"I have a better idea," Anna smiled as she nodded toward Bonnie. "Compel the witch to hurt her."

"I do like that," Katherine purred as she grabbed the knife and sauntered toward Bonnie. "But first I'm going to give her a choice." Her brown eyes glistened with insanity. "Do you want to hurt her Bonnie or am I going to have to make you?"

Tears were flowing from Bonnie's green eyes as she accepted the knife and stood up. Her movements were slow and calculated. Elena could tell that Bonnie was trying to buy them some time, but Elena wasn't sure how much time they had.

"I'm so sorry I got you into this," Elena spoke softly as her friend approached her. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know," Bonnie nodded. "And I'm sorry for this Elena." When she was only a few feet from Elena, she dropped the knife to the ground. "I can't hurt you."

"You're not doing this right!" Katherine shrieked as she grabbed Bonnie by the hair and pulled her back. "You're supposed to be hurting her!"

Katherine threw Bonnie's body to the ground and raced over and grabbed onto the knife. She came back and stabbed Bonnie in the shoulder with the sharp blade. A gasp escaped Elena's lips, but Katherine didn't pay her any attention.

"Don't defy me again," Katherine spat. As she turned around to face her vampire fiends, a frown crossed her face. Both of her henchmen lay in a mass on the ground.

Elena saw movement on the hill and had to hold back a sob when she saw Damon walking toward them.

"Damon," Katherine purred as she walked toward him. "I take it you're the winner?"

"Of course I'm the winner," Damon replied. He quickly took his place beside Katherine. "Why wouldn't I be?"

To that, Katherine truly grinned. "I've missed you Damon."

"You have no idea how much I wanted to see you again." Slowly and precisely, Damon embraced Katherine in a quick kiss. When she tried to move away, he held onto her and prevented her from escaping.

A gunshot echoed through the night and Elena saw Katherine's form go limp in Damon's arms. He quickly dropped her to the ground and watched her go still as the vervain took control of her body. He shoved a vervain dart into her body to accelerate the process and she let out a muffled sob.

"You have tortured me ever since you turned me," he spat. "I _hate_ you Katherine and I'm glad I'll never have to see you again after tomorrow morning." A smile crossed his lips as she glared at him. "You heard me right, Katherine." He ripped her lapis luzi chain from off her neck. "When the sun comes up Katherine, you're going to burn."

As Damon said his last words to Katherine, Elena had rushed to Bonnie's side.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked as she lightly touched the deep wound.

"I'll be fine," Bonnie said softly. "I just need to get to the hospital. And soon."

Tears were flowing down Elena's face, and she offered Bonnie a weak smile. She turned around and looked back at Anna. She hadn't move from the location she had stood in, but her eyes took in Elena's form.

"I'm so sorry Elena," Anna spoke. "I just wanted him to be safe."

"I know," Elena nodded. "I don't blame you for this."

"Then come back with me and we'll drive her to the hospital." Anna's gaze moved to Damon. "He'll be busy for a little while anyway."

Elena stood up as she debated how they were going to get Bonnie out of the graveyard. When she saw Alaric and Jenna racing down toward them, a rush of warmth raced through her being. With all the love she felt around her, she didn't see how she had ever thought they would lose this battle.

Alaric carefully picked Bonnie up then and led them out of the graveyard and into a happier future.

* * *

Elena sat in the waiting room at the hospital for some news on Bonnie's condition. Alaric and Jenna both sat close by, although they had drifted into sleep a few minutes ago. Anna had left almost the instant she was at the hospital to try to find Jeremy. She had yet to return, but had called a little while ago to tell Elena that her brother was still alive.

As someone else entered the room, Elena turned her attention to the man. Damon sat down beside her and offered her a weak smile.

"How are you holding up?"

"Surprisingly well," Elena nodded. "With everything that has gone on lately, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal."

The pager in Elena's hands vibrated then and she motioned toward the desk. "I need to go hear what they have to say," she spoke as she walked toward the nurses.

"Miss Gilbert," the elderly nurse nodded. "We just received word that Bonnie came out of surgery. She's going to be fine, but she's not allowed to have visitors for a little while."

"When will I be able to see her?"

"Around morning," the nurse replied.

"Thank you." Elena smiled before she walked back to Damon and once again took a seat. "It feels like all of this is a fairy tale," she spoke softly. She knew Damon had heard the news about Bonnie so there was no reason to repeat it. "We're all getting our happily every afters and the evil villain is dead."

"Technically, she isn't yet," Damon shrugged. "But she will be soon. And then you'll be completely safe."

Elena nodded as she thought back to everything Alaric had filled her in on. "What about Stefan? What is he going to do now?"

"He's already left Elena," Damon said slowly. "He's going somewhere to cleanse his body from these horrible memories he has. I don't think he'll ever come back."

"Do you want to go with him?" Her brown eyes searched Damon for answers.

"My relationship with Stefan has changed greatly since we met you. I want the best for him, but I want to be with you more. I'll check on him occasionally, but for the most part, I plan on staying here."

"Will more people come now that Katherine is gone?"

"I'm sure many people will come. We won't have to worry about that for a while though."

"I'm thankful for that."

"Me too."

Nodding, Elena leaned her head against Damon's shoulder. As he rested his head on top of hers, she felt her feelings for him envelop her body. She had always known that she cared for him, but only now did she truly realize how deep those feelings went.

Slowly, she pulled away and looked deep into his eyes.

"I love you Damon."

He arched an eyebrow, but the smile on his lips was unmistakable. "I love you too Elena."

With those words, Elena knew nothing could come against them. Whoever threatened her family and friends would be destroyed.


	10. Chapter 10 Storms on the Horizon

a/n: So this chapter wraps up "The Storm" fan fiction. I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. And please remember to review, especially since this is the last time you'll get to. I would love to get over thirty reviews for this story. This epilogue will make sense to those who had read the books, and if you haven't read the books, the epilogue is still fun. I hope you enjoy!

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Epilogue: Storms on the Horizon

_I remembered black skies, the lightning all around me,  
I remembered each flash as time began to blur…  
There was nothing in sight but memories left abandoned,  
There was nowhere to hide, the ashes fell like snow,  
And the ground caved in between where we were standing,  
And your voice was all I heard, that I get what I deserve._  
-New Divide by Linkin Park

Damon stood in the darkness that came right before the dawn. About a hundred yards from where he stood was Katherine's limp body. The vervain still controlled her form and forced her to stay in her current location, although he knew that was the last place she wanted to be. Personally, Damon was ready to watch her burn.

As the first rays of the morning sun glistened in the graveyard, Katherine's screams echoed through the air. Soon, however, there wasn't enough of her left to make any sound at all.

Slowly, Damon closed the distance between them. He eyed her ashes warily, but didn't move to touch them or move them. Katherine wasn't worth the trouble.

"She was beautiful," a voice came from nearby. Damon turned, expecting to see another vampire, but frowned as he took in the man's form.

Onyx colored hair framed his face with the very tips of his locks ending in a vibrant red. His eyes glittered with gold and seemed to stare into Damon's very soul. It was easy to tell this man wasn't a vampire, but Damon wasn't completely sure what he was. Damon was positive this man was more powerful than any vampire he'd ever encountered.

"And who are you?" Damon asked as he narrowed his eyes.

"My name's Shinichi," he shrugged before he pointed to Katherine's ashes. "She always liked to cause trouble."

"Are you here to mourn her? Or to seek revenge for her death?"

"Nothing like that," Shinichi laughed. "I cared nothing for her. In fact, I found her quite annoying."

"Then why are you here?"

"You of all people should understand how much power this place contains," Shinichi's eyes danced with mischief. "Do you really think you can keep her safe?"

"Keep who safe?" Damon replied with a sly smile.

"Elena." Shinichi grinned. "She has quite the power inside of her too. Many people will come to try to take that power."

"And you're one of those people?"

"I might be," he shrugged. "We'll just have to see how this game plays out."

"Game?"

A laugh escaped Shinichi's lips. "Everything is a game, Kun Damon." He looked deep into Damon's eyes. "How much are you willing to give up for her?" He smiled as he took in Damon's reaction. "Would you give up your own brother?"

"What do you know about my brother?" Damon refused to give Shinichi any satisfaction.

"I have him," Shinichi replied matter-of-factly. "And unless you play my game, you're not going to get him back."

Damon was tired of this. "What is your game?"

"We'll discuss our arrangements later," he replied. "Until next time Kun Damon."

Since there was nothing else he could really do, Damon watched the man leave. The power radiating off his body had been enormous. If this man did come back, the entire town would be in trouble. Damon just hoped he was someone they wouldn't have to worry about.

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a/n: I hope you enjoyed it and please review!


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